REVEALED the explosive email that sparked poisonous £4m Battle of the Anchors

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Everyone at Channel 5 was thrilled when Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije joined as a newsreader. Executives were especially pleased to have recruited her from Sky, and they believed she would be a strong replacement for Sian Williams, who had recently left the network.

The network executives also congratulated themselves on being forward-thinking with their new hire. Claudia-Liza was their first Black newsreader, and they were very proud of this milestone.

When we signed Claudia-Liza in 2018, there was a lot of scrutiny on various media platforms because people felt they weren’t diverse enough.

The ITN press office, which produces Channel 5’s news, contacted me with exciting news: they had hired Claudia-Liza. They were very enthusiastic and shared how impressive she is.

I’ve been following this story for a while now, and it’s really upsetting to see how things have played out. It’s been eight years since Claudia-Liza was hired, and it clearly didn’t work out – it seems to have negatively impacted ITN, Channel 5, and even Dan Walker, who joined to present the news with her after leaving BBC Breakfast. Her time there was apparently really difficult, leading to her being let go in 2024. Now, she’s bravely taking legal action, claiming she was a victim of sexism, mistreatment because she’s a Black woman, and bullying at work. It’s a really serious situation and I hope she gets the justice she deserves.

Everyone involved has declined to reach an agreement with Claudia-Liza, 47. Her lawyer, Jonathan Coad, had asked for £4 million, plus legal fees, to settle the case last week. Because negotiations failed, the case will go to court in London tomorrow.

A lot of money appears to be involved – Claudia-Liza once requested £13 million as compensation.

Claudia-Liza, who her coworkers call CL, has identified Dan, age 49, as someone who can respond to her allegations. She also named ITN and Paramount, the owner of Channel 5, as respondents.

Dan, a married father of three, strongly denies the accusations against him. He has gathered over 50 statements from people who can vouch for his character, including well-known athletes, Olympic competitors, and professionals from the BBC. Details of these statements will follow.

Dan, a devout Christian, will be appearing at the hearing as he hopes to clear his name.

A friend shared that Dan is doing well and feels encouraged by the incredible support he’s received from coworkers and friends. He’s determined to attend the tribunal to ensure the full story is told.

He’s been through a really difficult time. It’s been a significant burden, and it’s been weighing on him for a while now.

Information coming out at the upcoming tribunal – which is predicted to last around a month – is said to be quite sensational.

Those close to Dan, though, insist that Claudia-Liza’s claims against him are not true.

I’ve learned the dispute centers around an email Dan’s agent sent to Channel 5’s head, Ben Frow. The agent, who also represents Claudia-Liza and previously worked with Phillip Schofield, claims the email threatened Dan would quit unless Claudia-Liza was fired.

But I’ve been informed that isn’t true. People close to Dan – his friends and family – were actually very worried about the stressful conditions he was facing at work.

The note to Frow, they say, was to ask for Channel 5 to get a grip on the situation.

According to what I was told, Claudia-Liza hadn’t formally complained about Dan when the email was sent, but they were having trouble working together. Apparently, Dan is a perfectionist and always strives to do his best work; it’s just part of who he is.

Everyone handles things differently. He really tried to make it succeed and invested a lot of effort, but it ended up being disorganized and failing badly. Dan, who is a highly skilled professional, was put in a very unprofessional environment.

‘He wasn’t prepared to stand for that. So it was made clear that Channel 5 had to step up.

Honestly, everyone’s getting it so wrong! Dan had an out in his contract, sure, but it wasn’t like he was going to leave if Claudia-Liza didn’t! The whole thing has been completely warped and it’s driving me crazy! It wasn’t about her at all, they’re twisting everything!

The hearing will also cover how things escalated after Claudia-Liza filed her complaint in 2024, ultimately leading to ITN’s CEO, Rachel Corp, banning her from the newsroom.

Claudia-Liza allegedly shared emails she had with Corp among her coworkers, hoping they would support her side of the story.

Honestly, it’s been really tough to watch. In the end, she lost the backing of most of her colleagues, who still seem to support Dan. I heard that ITN offered her paid leave while they looked into her concerns, and they were also discussing the possibility of making her position redundant, even during that time.

According to a source, she was sent home from her desk because the company had a responsibility to protect her and her colleagues.

She was incredibly angry and immediately told everyone she could that Channel 5 had treated her very unfairly. In a statement released shortly after I reported in The Mail on Sunday that Dan was facing a tribunal, Claudia-Liza claimed she was actually let go under false pretenses – that her job loss was a sham redundancy.

Coad explained that she reported concerns because she believed Channel 5’s newsroom had a harmful environment marked by racism, sexism, and bullying, and that this bias was visible in their news coverage.

She claims that ITN and Channel 5 attempted to conceal a racist environment within Channel 5 News, and that they knowingly allowed it to continue despite it being against the law.

Claudia-Liza has faced significant challenges recently, having experienced both the loss of a loved one and a divorce.

Insiders at both ITN and Channel 5 are determined to ‘fight Claudia-Liza all the way’.

Leaders at both companies are reportedly very angry and refuse to pay their former employee the large sum of money she is requesting, stating they won’t be tricked into doing so.

This situation is undoubtedly very embarrassing for Corp, who is also involved in the tribunal proceedings and expected to attend.

She leads Women In Journalism, an organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging female journalists.

I’ve been following their work for a while now, and what I really admire is their commitment to helping women journalists here in the UK. They clearly state their goal is to empower us to thrive in our careers and reach our full potential, and I think they’re doing a fantastic job of it.

A member of Women In Journalism contacted me last week because she noticed a contradiction between how the company presents itself publicly and the claims being made internally against her.

Critics pointed out the situation looked very bad: Rachel, who leads an organization funded by annual membership fees, was firing a Black woman.

Despite claiming innocence, she’s facing a tribunal for actions that directly contradict the values of Women In Journalism, which is incredibly awkward for her.

The upcoming tribunal will revisit issues Dan has already dealt with. He and his wife, Sarah, met while he was a history student at Sheffield University. He was previously investigated for alleged serious misconduct following accusations made by Claudia-Liza in April 2024, but was completely cleared of any wrongdoing.

People close to the investigation say there wasn’t enough proof to back up the allegations, and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Dan fully cooperated with the inquiry.

Claudia-Liza’s claims were never proven true. Dan explained to The Daily Telegraph in 2024 that the matter was thoroughly investigated and he was completely cleared by an independent review, finding everything to be false.

That situation wasn’t pleasant, but it’s important to remember what you believe to be true, because ultimately, truth is what matters most.

Claudia-Liza’s lawyers are expected to argue that the investigation wasn’t thorough enough.

Speaking for Claudia-Liza, Coad will discuss the problem of unequal pay, pointing out that Dan received a higher salary than she did despite having similar positions.

As someone who follows media careers closely, it’s always been clear to those at Channel 5 that Dan’s role extends far beyond simply reading the news. This recent situation has been really tough on him, I’ve heard – a truly unpleasant experience. Thankfully, he’s a well-loved figure and is being surrounded by a lot of support, which is wonderful to see.

Among the fifty letters of support Dan received, three notable ones came from Radio 2’s Zoe Ball, Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora – who Dan worked with on a BBC American football show in 2020 – and his Classic FM co-worker, Myleene Klass.

Friends of the trio tell me that they were ‘absolutely delighted’ to come forward.

‘Zoe and Dan worked together on Radio 2 way back when,’ says a friend of hers.

She cares deeply for Dan and is very upset by what he’s going through, so she wanted to help in any way she could. She wrote a heartfelt letter of support that will be presented to the judge this week – it’s a truly lovely character reference.

Dan is also close to Osi, a Super Bowl champion, who deeply admires Dan and has even moved him to tears.

‘They climbed Kilimanjaro together for Comic Relief in 2019.

Myleene and Dan have a great connection. They’re co-hosting an event at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow night, and she seems to be cheering him up.

The other letters are all lovely as well. Dan is truly happy and overwhelmed by all the kind messages he’s received.

He was deeply moved last Sunday when the ITN production team sent him a letter of complete support. A friend said it meant a lot to Dan to receive the message on the day the story was published, making everything feel very real.

Considering the claims made against those involved, the tribunal will almost certainly discuss the topic of racial issues at work, which is a difficult situation for everyone accused.

Those who know Dan well insist he’s not prejudiced, so he’ll likely be upset by these public accusations.

People who know Dan are hoping the accusations will draw attention to the fact that he didn’t come from a wealthy or advantaged background.

Okay, so get this – he didn’t come from some fancy background at all! He actually grew up in a totally normal row house in Crawley, West Sussex. And you will not believe this… I went to the same school there! Seriously, the same comprehensive! It’s just… amazing to think we walked the same halls. I’m still kind of freaking out about it, honestly.

A friend shared that Dan built his career from scratch, without any family connections or financial support for extended internships.

‘Yet he has remained a really, really nice guy. He has come from very little and achieved so much.

‘Yet someone is trying to erode all of that, while he’s keeping a smile on his face.

‘It’s devastating for him.’

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2026-04-19 03:36